Mark E. Brennan


Mark Edward Brennan is an American Roman Catholic prelate who is the 9th and current Bishop of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston in West Virginia. He was installed on August 22, 2019.

Early years

Brennan was born on February 6, 1947 in Boston, Massachusetts. He attended public elementary and junior high schools before attending in Washington, D.C. He received a bachelor's degree in history in 1969 from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.
After receiving his bachelor's degree, he completed one year of philosophy studies at Christ the King Seminary in New York before attending the Pontifical North American College in Rome, earning a S.T.B. in 1973 and a master's degree in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

Priestly ministry

Brennan was ordained to the diaconate May 10, 1973, in Rome. He served diaconal assignments at , Washington, summer 1973; , Leonardtown, Maryland, 1974–1975; and , Clinton, Maryland, 1975–1976.
He was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington by Archbishop William W. Baum on May 15, 1976. His clergy assignments in Washington included the following:
appointed Brennan auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Baltimore on December 5, 2016. He was consecrated titular Bishop of Rusibisir on January 19, 2017.

Bishop of Wheeling-Charleston

On July 23, 2019, Pope Francis named him Bishop of Wheeling-Charleston, to succeed Bishop Michael J. Bransfield, who had retired in 2018 and, days before Brennan's appointment, had been subjected to Vatican sanctions "for financial crimes and sexual harassment". He was installed as Bishop of Wheeling-Charleston during a ceremony held at Wheeling's Cathedral of Saint Joseph on 22 August 2019.